The obvious
physical features we all use to immediately qualify a person when we meet him
or her are eye and hair color, height and weight. You may think this is easy to
decide, but you can use these obvious features to make your characters more
memorable while also advancing your story line. In Sandra Balzo's Maggy Thorsen
series, character Jake Pavlik has eyes that change color according to his mood.
Once Maggy discovers this, she uses it to her advantage.
When creating
the features of your characters, consider the less obvious qualities such as
voice (think Fran Drescher) and bone structure (Hulk like). Does he/she have a striking
feature? A nose that rivals the black diamond downhill at Aspen? Hands the size
of cantaloupe? Of course, if you’re going to create such a feature, don't
mention it once and forget about it. Allow it play a role--those cantaloupe
hands are your antagonist's weapons.
Use
appearance to accent personality.
Sanguine
personalities tend to like the glittery and colorful, so maybe your protagonist
always wears Hawaiian shirts or carries a glitzy purse the size of a great Dane.
A melancholy more often will wear subdued colors like black and navy blue. Is
your character quirky? Maybe she wears reflector vest orange lipstick. Is he
phlegmatic? Have him wear clothes that always look like he slept in them. In
fact, maybe that’s exactly what he does. You get the point. Use these things to
create features your reader will remember. For example: Harry Potter and his
round eyeglasses, Columbo and his rumpled overcoat, Snow White and her snow
white complexion.
Utilize appearance to grow your character's personality.
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